The Artistic Efforts of David Rankin in India 1970-2008
David Rankin began his artistic fascination with India in 1970, during an intense 4-month period of yoga training in the ashram of Swami Rama. The ashram was situated right on the banks of the Ganges River, between the towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh. And it was during this period of indepth yoga training that David was also initiated into the extraordinary beauty of India. And what began in David back then... as a mere artistic recognition of the beauty of India... is today the central focus of his extraordinary professional career. And over these past 38 years David has become the world’s most celebrated & prolific professional Watercolor Painter to be focusing a diverse artistic vision on India. ihi In 1985, after what David refers to as a series of profound spiritual experiences with Saraswati, India’s Goddess of all artforms, he gave up a flourishing professional career as a free-lance illustrator and graphic designer, and set off to India on the largest, most adventurous, artistic project of his long and colorful career. This became known as David Rankin’s Images of India Watercolor Collection. And it was this dramatic refocusing of David’s professional art career, inspired by a number of intense yogic visions & dreams, which literally catapulted him into both national & international acclaim. David had been the co-founder of the Light of Yoga Society back in 1968, in Cleveland, Ohio, and came to India the first time in 1970. But in 1974, he initiated the first of many extended summer-long train-
ing programs for the Yoga Society, in Kashmir. And from 1974-1981 he helped bring over 400 Americans to India for extended periods of time. And it was during this period that he began a long association with Air India airlines; which was the airline used for most of their group travel between America and India. So in 1985, as David’s creative efforts shifted into this massive endeavor to “Paint India”, Air India flew he and his wife back & forth as they began this project. And it was during this beginning effort that David also began working with the Taj Hotels, in Mumbai (previously known as Bombay). Working closely with Umaima Mulle-Feroze, the senior editor of the Taj Magazine, David and his wife, Deanna began to create a series of lavishly illustrated magazine articles focused on various interesting artistic aspects of India. Winged Glory, The Birds of India • by David & Deanna Rankin
ihi
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Then in 1989, as David was preparing the Grand Opening of his first major One-Man Show of his Images of India Watercolor Collection, at Scheele Galleries in Cleveland... Minolta Camera of Osaka, Japan became very interested in David’s unique creative efforts in India. And in 1990 David became the very first watercolor painter to ever be honored with a major 14-page featured article in Minolta’s world famous photographic journal titled Minolta Mirror. David had begun his initial efforts to Paint India, by focusing his artistic vision on the extraordinary diversity of birds found all across India. Artist in India, Minolta Mirror 1990
David’s meteoric rise as a professional watercolor painter, focused on India, brought many new horizons, honors, and projects. His painting of India’s majestic Sarus Cranes won the Society of Animal Artists highest award, The Award of Excellence, and was then used to promote the Society’s National Museum Tour all across America.
David then initiated the creation of the very first of its kind, artist inspired & donated, Miniature Museum Collection to
And that same year, the initial very large watercolors of India’s birds gained rapid artistic acclaim in the world’s top museum exhibition of its kind... Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, in Wausau, Wisconsin. David’s artistic focus on the Birds of India has continued with this museum ever since, and it has widened out into numerous other areas as well. Shortly after the very successful opening of his Images of India Watercolor Collection; his success in the world rekonwn Birds in Art exhibition at the Woodson Art Museum; and the association with Minolta Camera, David was honored to discover that he had been voted into the world’s most elite professional group of Wildlife Artists–The Society Morning in Bharatpur • 40” x 60”” • Transparent Watercolor of Animal Artists, by a first-ever unanimous vote. And in addition, he was then asked to take a seat on their international board, a seat which he is honored to hold to this day. ihi
Sarus Cranes at Dawn • 30” x 40”” • Transparent Watercolor
honor the founders of the Woodson Museum. David donated a wonderful painting of India’s ubiquitous Rose-Ringed Parakeets to lead off this unique collection.
India’s Rose-Ringed Parakeets 12” x 14”” • Transparent Watercolor
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Although David began his creative efforts in India focusing on India’s amazing diversity of birds, his interests in India’s wildlife quickly reached out to include virtually all of India’s wildlife. Birds are still a dominant theme in his work, but the big cats of India soon found their way into more and more of his paintings.
And in 1999 David was honored to be selected as the featured artist for the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation & Research Center Exhibition; which featured David’s stunning depiction of one of India’s most beautiful & elusive big cats, the Clouded Leopard.
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As David lectures across America to various art organizations and groups, he is always quick to point out how artistically amazing India’s architecture is. In fact, David tends to paint as many landscapes of India as he does wildlife subjects. And he details the extraordinary effect India’s architectural styles have had upon the world in general. “But for artists”, David states, “India’s diverse architectural styles offer a never ending choice of subjects that are everywhere. From ultra modern to very ancient, an artist can find virtually anything they like in the way of subjects.” However, David had travelled to India 7 times before making his first visit to the Taj. But he was so captivated by the magical charm of the Taj that he has returned many times since. And today he is probably one of the single most prolific “Taj Painters” in the world.
And in David’s efforts to do artistic justice to the Taj he looks for and paints some of the most striking and unique visions of the Taj ever seen.
The Western Gate of the Taj at Dawn • 20” x30”” • Transparent Watercolor
And here below you see one of his paintings of Indian women in their saris striding across the grounds of the Secretariat in Delhi after a morning monsson shower.
Full Noon Taj • 14” x 16” • Transparent Watercolor After the Monsoon Rain 14” x 16” • Transparent Watercolor
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In 1996, after many years of travel and close association with Andy Bhatia, North American Rep for Air India, in New York, David was contracted to create a very large project to help stimulate worldwide tourism to India. And over a 6 month period David designed, painted, and produced a diverse assortment of products for Air India using 14 of his most celebrated watercolors on a wide selection of promotional products for the tourism industry worldwide.
One of David’s dominant artistic themes that he reinforces in everything he does, is how truly “beautiful” India is. He often states in his lectures... “I went to India in 1970 in search of yogic training and my spiritual life. But in addition, I found artistic delight. In fact, it has been India herself, that has made me into the artist I am today. And as fellow artists look around the world for inspiration and places to hone their craft... I tell them... go to India!.
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David prides himself on the work he has done over the years trying to present an accurate and diverse artistic view of India’s beauty to the world, especially in his remarkable wildlife watercolors. Likewise he has created a rather massive amount of effort into presenting the most timeless and attractive images of India to the world. He feels that far too much attention has been placed in the world’s media upon the more difficult social issues that India is dealing with. And all too often this slant of the world media tends to be quite negative or fascinated with extremes or weird aspects of India’s 5000 year old culture. This is why he states... “What attracts my artistic eye is India’s most beautiful features. Let others spend their lives focused on the gutter. I revel in the moon rising over the Yamuna behind the the Taj; the electric
green glint off the back of a peacock at dawn; and Peak Light in the Himalayas at last light of day! I study the colors of light penetrating the gosimer threads of a young woman’s golden sari in the bazzar in Jaipur, and the kaleidescopic colors in the Bangle Markets of Jodhpur. The beauty of India’s people is everywhere in stunning display, waiting for the discerning eye of the artist. And these are the images that stir my soul and inspire me to try and capture some of that essence in watercolor.”
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David Rankin Paints the Ganges Himalayas
David Rankin’s relationship with the Ganges River and the Himalayas began in 1970. For many years he spent his summers exploring the Kashmir Himalayas, from Srinagar to Ladakh. But in the late 1990’s his attention turned back into the Ganges Himalayas. And with the beginnings of his Sacred Source Watercolor Expedition; which began last May/June 2007, David has again focused his at-
tention on the extraordinary beauty of this sacred region of India. Entering the Ganges Himalayas This is my favorite time of day in the Himalayas. I call it “Peak Light”, when the first & last light of day illuminates just the peaks. Yumnotri Temple Yumnotri is the traditional beinning point of the annual Hindu pilgrimage route known as the Char Dham Yatra.
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David is a classical watercolor painter who loves to paint directly from nature whenever possible. As David travels around India he does a lot of sketching & painting in this fashion. As he states, “My eyes are 10,000 times more sensitive to color & value than my cameras. So wherever I can, I try to record my initial studies directly and quickly.
Evening Peak Light What I love about “Peak Light” is how the colors intensify. Bhagirathi Peak Light from Chirbasa A day’s trek below Goumukh is Chirbasa. And as tghe evening light descends it illuminates the Bhagirathi peaks with a rosy-golden hue.
David painting at Ukhimath.
View south from Badrinath Badrinath, like the other high altitude destinations on the Char Dham Yatra, is surrounded by massive peaks that make are magical in morning light. On the way up to Gangotri About 4 hours below Gangotri the winding road pauses at this stupendous vista. The Ganges tributary, Bhagirathi, weaves her way southwards through this valley in a most memorable fashion.
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The Sacred Source - 20” x 38”• Watercolor
This large watercolor is the very first major art exhibition painting ever created of the Gangotri Glacier. The original will be featured in the Artists for Conservation Exhibition at the Blauvelt Museum, in Oradell, New Jersey. The Grand Opening of the exhibition is September 25-26th, 2008. This marks the very first major artistic effort to present the beauty of the Ganges Himalayas to an international audi-
ence of art lovers since the early 1800’s. See more of David’s efforts to paint the Ganges Himalayas at davidrankinwatercolors.com.
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Few Indians have seen and experienced as much of India as David Rankin has over these past 38 years. And this past May 2007, David began the largest, most adventurous artistic project of his long colorful career. He was the honored recipient of Flag Expedition Grant #2 from the Artists for Conservation website, the world’s number one website for all artistic conservation efforts, natureartists.com. David’s AFC Flag Expedition was focused on what he refers to as the Ganges Himalayas. And over these next several
the Bhagirathi... the Mandakini... and the Alakananda. David then began his initial efforts to create an actual working logistical artist painting map of the region based upon its most beautiful features. He has now begun the onging effort to create this vast body of work that presents the astounding natural beauty of this region of India. You can begin to see & study David’s efforts in this regard on his AFC website at... davidrankinwatercolors.com. If you click the green flag symbol on his home page you’ll find his blog entries, PDF files, sketches, & video segments detailing his efforts. And this large painting to the left is one of his first major successes from this expedition. It is a large expansive watercolor depicting the forward face of the Gangotri Glacier, at 13,215 feet altitude. David titled his historic expedition... the Sacred Source. And that title was in honor of this glacier, one of the largest in the world, and David Rankin at Goumukh • Artist for Conservation Flag Expedition 2007 the traditional “origin” of the years David plans on creating the most defabled Ganges River. tailed and comprehensive artistic survey This first major painting from Daof this region of the Himalayas that has vid’s expedition was recently selected to ever been done. be exhibited in the upcoming Artists for In May/June of 2007, David set Conservation Art Exhibition at the forth with a small team to work their way Blauvelt Museum in Oradell, New up and down all 4 of the major tributarJersey, in September, 2008. ies of the Ganges River... the Yamuna...
Top to bottom • Map of India • Route Map of Expedition • David painting on location at Goumukh • David’s painting at Goumukh
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India’s Natural Beauty In a working style similar to John Singer Sargent’s, Rankin paints a wide assortment of subjects from his travels. From the very beginning David has been fascinated with India’s extraordinary natural beauty. And irregardless if he’s painting the Taj Mahal, Himalayan peaksscapes, Rajput architecture, peacocks or tigers, he is always trying to frame something intrinsically beautiful and captivating about India.
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David Sketches Everything As David travels around India he sketches people, birds, architecture, landscapes, cityscapes, and all manner of interesting subjects. And in fact, in his book... David Rankin’s Fast Sketching Techniques, by North Light Books, he credits his style and ability to sketch the way he does, to his field work in India.
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One of David’s dominant artistic themes that he reinforces in everything he does, is how truly “beautiful” India is. He often states in his lectures... “I went to India in 1970 in search of yogic training and my spiritual life. But in addition, I found artistic delight. In fact, it has been India herself, that has made me into the artist I am today. And as fellow artists look around the world for inspiration and places to hone their craft... I tell them... go to India!.
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People & Animals India was in fact, the very first country on earth to create specific “Conservation Laws” to protect forests and the creatures that lived in forests. The Ashok Edicts, 250-232BC., laid out precise formal rules to be used in governing these habitats. And because of India’s unique spiritual, religious, and philosophical heritage; which dates back nearly 5000 years, the entire country and its present day culture is steeped in these ancient traditions. And one of the artistic themes David has been fascinated with from his very first trip, is India’s unique relationship with the creatures of the natural environment. “You can see this easily in India’s vast rural agricultural landscape. But it is equally visible in big cities and small all over the country. And this theme inspires many of my best paintings. The most ubiquitous example of this of course is India’s ancient spiritual & cultural relationship with traditional farm animals like cows & bullocks.”
Putting in the Rice / South India This large 30” x 40” watercolor, depicting a timeless scene of rural India, recently won 3rd place in the reknown museum exhibition... Artists Abroad, at the Bennington Museum of Art, in Vermont.
Cow Wash Yes New Delhi still has some cows wandering about the streets in a seemingly dazed manner. But it’s the “country cows” that I love to paint the most. In more rural areas, the cows & bullocks were once the major means of transporting not only goods to market, but the familes as well. People in the west have often said... “why don’t they eat the cows?” But this statement does not take into account the ancient traditions of India. And David will often reply to these uninformed questions... “Would you eat your tractor?” Cows & bullocks however, are rapidly being eclipsed even from India’s farmlands by the motorized tractor and other forms of transportation. But they have not disappeared completely.
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People & Animals cont. In all of David’s travels the subject that he never seems to pass up is elephants. And he loves to talk about this subject where man lives & works ion close relationship with elephants, “in the very first hours of my very first trip to India, back in 1970, on the way in from the airport our taxi was held up for some time as an elephant was holding up traffic in one of Delhi’s traffic circles, eating the flowers in the central garden. And on my most recent trip, in 2007, I was once again amazed to find these large ambling creatures moving with ease through Delhi’s now very dense traffic.
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David Rankin Paints India’s Architecture
Something for every artist India’s architecture is another unique feature of India that finds its way into many of David’s watercolors. And no image of India is quite so recognizeable as the fabled Taj Mahal; which David paints in all light, all times of day, and all season’s of the year. But in fact, David loves all of India’s various forms of architecture. “In 1985 we made our very first painting trip to the Taj. That same year we began to explore all of Rajasthan. And since then I find dramatic subjects in every corner opf the country. And often times I will begin the day looking for a particular type of bird to sketch & study, and end up finding a particular building, in a unique setting, with dramatic light... and I’m captivated!”
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David Rankin Paints India’s Wildlife David is “Wild” about India If there is one single subject of India that David is best known for it must be his dramatic watercolors featuring India’s various birds & animals. This was the theme that rapidly catapulted David’s entire artistic career to international acclaim back in 1990! And since that time David has become one of the world’s top wildlife artists, and probably the most prolific professional artist in the world with a focus on India. And although his interests in India’s wildlife began with her birds, a subject he still paints a lot, in recent years his focus has been dominated by India’s big cats and elephants. “It’s about “Habitat”. India is in fact much smaller than people think. It would fit easily in the United States... east of the Mississippi River. And Africa, is in fact 1,100 times “bigger” than India! However, India’s wildlife diversity is second to none! India has the world’s most different species of deer and big cats. Bigger than Africa’s! And India’s bird diversity is second only to South America’s. In fact, India has twice as many different species of birds than all of America & Canada... combined! However, India’s challenge in this 21st century will be how best to manage and protect the remaining natural habitats where these creatures still live. And my effort is to try and capture the beauty of these creatures in their most natural habitats.
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For a number of years David and his wife Deanna, wrote & illustrated articles for Taj Magazine, in Bombay; that focused on interesting features of India that had an “artistic” theme of one kind or another. This was their very first article, entitled Winged Glory, and it presented amazing facts about India’s diverse bird populations along with a number of David’s illusatrations as well as several of his full scale museum watercolors. According to their Taj Editor, Umiama Mulle-Feroze, this was the very first article of its kind to appear in Taj Magazine, that focused traveller’s attentions on this wonderful and beautiful aspect of the natural Indian landscape.
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In 1993, Artist in India, a 14 page feature article detailing David’s unique creative efforts in India, appeared in Minolta Camera’s world famous photographic journal, Minolta Mirror. This feature was lavishly illustrated with David’s work all over India and included his reference photos and his finished watercolors, making him the very first watercolor painter to ever be honored by Minolta Camera in this way.
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In the first 5-6 years after beginning his major effort to paint India, David focused a lot of his creative efforts on India’s amazing birds, especially the large diversity of Cranes & Storks. Then, in 1993 the celebrated magazine, International Wildlife, created a major feature article on David’s work in India, titled, Down the Road from the Taj Mahal. This time the editor focused on David’s almost single-handed artistic effect of focusing an enthusiastic new international interest upon India’s amazing bird diversity.
This unique naturalistic artistic focus that David was creating through his masterful watercolors of India’s Storks & Cranes has brought far reaching international acclaim, not only David, but India as well. And many of India’s most beautiful birds have foun d their way into numerous exhibitions all over the world.
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The International Crane Foundation came to know of David’s fascination for the cranes of India, and since their organization began with its scientific crane research work in Bharatpur ( Keoladeo National Park), they soon developed an ongoing professional relationship with David. And David’s initial efforts to focus international attention on India’s cranes, now benefits numerous conservation organizations and efforts all over the world.
Amazingly enough, David’s original efforts to begin painting India’s beautiful birds, in 1985, especially her wonderful diversity of cranes & storks, have brought him worldwide acclaim. And he was recently very honored to learn that, as the International Crane Foundation sought to upgrade their new corporate logo, they chose to base it upon one of David’s beautiful cranes in his Cranes of the World watercolor. The full painting is shown above, in this unique poster David designed & produced for the ICF. David painted this historically unique image to show, for the very first time, all of the world’s 15 species of cranes with their accurate heights and precise markings.
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In 1996, former editor of Taj Magazine, Umaima Mulle-Feroze help design & edit one of the very best travel guides to Rajasthan ever printed, the Knopf Guide: India: Rajasthan And she used many of David’s major watercolors and commissioned him to create numerous illustrations for this most wonderful guidebook,
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Just some of the many different organizations & projects that have used David’s India watercolors.
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